Rifle cleaning

[Stavross 15,349]

I’m  interested to know what you lot do about cleaning your rifles, I’ll be honest I’m not the best at cleaning mine, a wipe over with a rag once in a while and only really clean them properly if I think there’s a problem, well today I had a couple of hours and thought I’d give all 5 a proper clean, .243, .22 and the cz .17 weren’t to bad but the browning.17 was absolutely filthy also the .223 was the same which surprised me as it hasn’t had a lot through it, I’ve got a mate who cleans his .223 every time he uses it, maybe I should start doing that

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

2 minutes ago, Stavross said:

I’m  interested to know what you lot do about cleaning your rifles, I’ll be honest I’m not the best at cleaning mine, a wipe over with a rag once in a while and only really clean them properly if I think there’s a problem, well today I had a couple of hours and thought I’d give all 5 a proper clean, .243, .22 and the cz .17 weren’t to bad but the browning.17 was absolutely filthy also the .223 was the same which surprised me as it hasn’t had a lot through it, I’ve got a mate who cleans his .223 every time he uses it, maybe I should start doing that

Very strange that as I never clean my rifles but today for some reason I decided to clean my .243  as I got some different ammo last week and am zeroing it tomorrow. 

Never had any problems apart from the 17 HMR which I hardly ever use seems to be not the most accurate.....probably needs a clean as I know they are a filthy round but I haven't got a cleaning kit.

What do you use on your HMR Stav ?

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by FOXHUNTER

[Stavross 15,349]

I have two different bore washes, I normally use the Tetra gun on the .17 because it’s really strong and dissolves everything, then run the bronze scrubber through it before pushing half a dozen patches through it, then it gets the Napier gun cleaner and a load more patches until they come out clean and dry

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Admit to never cleaning any of my rifles .If it fucks up just buy new

[Sausagedog 7,381]

I certainly dry the barrels of condensation after bringing the cold rifle in from the cold except for a 22. Bullet lube protects them.

The 17 gets a clean every 100 or so rounds. Hoppes or forest foam.

Any centerfire apart from drying as mentioned, every 20-50 rounds.

[Meece 1,957]

Shotguns yes but rifle accuracy  can really  be affected by  cleaning. Then there is cleaning and cleaning.  Some just pull a snake through or a patch.   This might make the barrels look clean but if you use a solvent as above and a phosphor bronze  brush , the crap comes out the barrel as if it was waste oil.  Personally I use Ed' red which I  make myself.  (Look at receipe online)  make half a gallon for pennies. Use it for the next twenty years.  The terra gun stuff is good BUT all these bought cleaners are a small fortune for what they are.  Use Ed's red.  It's blooming good and cheap.

[wilbur foxhound 480]

7 minutes ago, Meece said:

Shotguns yes but rifle accuracy  can really  be affected by  cleaning. Then there is cleaning and cleaning.  Some just pull a snake through or a patch.   This might make the barrels look clean but if you use a solvent as above and a phosphor bronze  brush , the crap comes out the barrel as if it was waste oil.  Personally I use Ed' red which I  make myself.  (Look at receipe online)  make half a gallon for pennies. Use it for the next twenty years.  The terra gun stuff is good BUT all these bought cleaners are a small fortune for what they are.  Use Ed's red.  It's blooming good and cheap.

Does it go out of date

[Stavross 15,349]

9 minutes ago, Meece said:

Shotguns yes but rifle accuracy  can really  be affected by  cleaning. Then there is cleaning and cleaning.  Some just pull a snake through or a patch.   This might make the barrels look clean but if you use a solvent as above and a phosphor bronze  brush , the crap comes out the barrel as if it was waste oil.  Personally I use Ed' red which I  make myself.  (Look at receipe online)  make half a gallon for pennies. Use it for the next twenty years.  The terra gun stuff is good BUT all these bought cleaners are a small fortune for what they are.  Use Ed's red.  It's blooming good and cheap.

I’m form up “T” north, don’t think for one minute I paid for any of this stuff

but you are right, the tetra clean and the Napier are both expensive 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Stavross

[cragman 2,766]

Ran a bore snake through my rimmy last week after a squirt of WD. Also put some into my mod. First time in ages. It was certainly quieter on the rabbits 

[bumpy22 414]

Use bore tech on a patch. Leave it to soak in while having a cup of tea. Continue patching out till clear then light oil patch before one dry.

Do it about once a month depending on use. Never used to before but having shot a barrel out on 243 years ago changed my theory 

My hmr seems to be most need of clean but I use it a couple of nights a week contracting for golf courses etc so needs to be good. But as said earlier these seem to be the most fussy when dirty. Fine rifling being small calibre and a lot of dirty powder.

I was always told lack of cleaning was the cause of most wear to a barrel. Even when running hot calibres

[Wolfdog91 6,928]

 

From some world class shooters ,might interest yall

[Stavross 15,349]

2 hours ago, bumpy22 said:

hmr seems to be most need of clean but I use it a couple of nights a week contracting for golf courses etc so needs to be good. But as said earlier these seem to be the most fussy when dirty. Fine rifling being small calibre and a lot of dirty powder

When I got my first HMR the lad in the shop said don’t treat it like any other rifle you own, clean it properly after at most 50 rounds through it, for the first couple of hundred I did but then stopped, I should take better care of it because they aren’t like any other calibre, they are really dirty, I’ve had rounds stuck in the barrel of the browning a couple of times 

[Deker 3,478]

Do what you like, there will be every answer from Never, to Every time I use it.

MY centrefires get a Proper clean every time, my rimfires less often these days.   My .22LRs are exclusive sub sonic lead, and whilst the ammo (powder) is filthy, they seem to work pretty well for a while.  My WMR is faster and copper coated so needs more attention.   My HMR is a pain to clean primarily because of the tiny bore.

ALL of them benefit from keeping clean.

All I would say is, if you are going to clean do it CAREFULLY, THOROUGHLY and PROPERLY.     A quick cleaning attempt is likely to raise fouling without removing it and leave you in a worse position than when you started.

PS moderators and chambers and Bolts etc., also benefit for a decent clean!

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Deker

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Well I cleaned the .243 yesterday and went to check it this morning. 

I took some 58 grn v max which I need to use up and my new Winchester to check.

Before I got to where I was going to zero a squirrel popped out the hedge 50 yds away , couldn't resist so popped in a 58 v max and ruined his day.

Zero seemed fine but put a few on the target and they were fine putting 2 rounds inside a penny at 100 yds and a couple touching at 150 yds , so happy with that.

So cleaning the barrel made no difference at all ...rifle shot the same.

 

 

[jok 3,220]

Stavross. I think you answered your own question. Rounds stuck in the Browning a couple of times ??  I’ve seen barrels (admittedly shotgun) split in two which is a frightening thought to the user. Try to answer your own question. Why NOT clean a very expensive and functional piece of equipment. Why take the chance of it letting you down. Imagine looking down the barrel after spending hours in your jungle gear waiting for your target and the thing malfunctioning. You’d be sick as a pig. IMO. Jok.